Fifty thousand men were sent to do the will of one
His claim was phrased quite simply
Though He never voiced it loud
I am He, the chosen one
In His name they could slaughter
For His name they could die
Though many there were believed in Him
Still more were sure He lied
But they'll fight the battle on
Then one whose faith had died
Fled back up the mountainside
But before the top was made
A misplaced footfall made Him stray
From the path prepared for Him
Off of the mountain on to a wilderness of ice
This unexpected vision
Made them stand and shake with fear
But nothing was His fright compared
With those who saw him appear
Terror filled their minds with awe
Simple were the folk who lived
Upon this frozen wave
So not surprising was their thought
This is He, Gods chosen one
Who's come to save us from
All our oppressors
We shall be kings on this world
"Follow me
I'll play the game you want me
Until I find a way back home"
"Follow me
I give you strength inside you
Courage to win your battles"
No, no, no, this can't go on
This will be all that I fled from
Let me rest for a while
He walked into a valley
All alone
There He talked with water
And then with the vine
They leave me no choice
I must lead them to glory
Or most likely to death
They traveled cross the plateau
Of ice up to its edge
Then they crossed a mountain range
And saw the final plain
Still He urged the people on
Then, on a distant slope
He observed one without hope
Flee back up the mountainside
He thought He recognized Him by His walk
And by the way He fell
And by the way He stood up
And vanished into air
His claim was phrased quite simply
Though He never voiced it loud
I am He, the chosen one
In His name they could slaughter
For His name they could die
Though many there were believed in Him
Still more were sure He lied
But they'll fight the battle on
Then one whose faith had died
Fled back up the mountainside
But before the top was made
A misplaced footfall made Him stray
From the path prepared for Him
Off of the mountain on to a wilderness of ice
This unexpected vision
Made them stand and shake with fear
But nothing was His fright compared
With those who saw him appear
Terror filled their minds with awe
Simple were the folk who lived
Upon this frozen wave
So not surprising was their thought
This is He, Gods chosen one
Who's come to save us from
All our oppressors
We shall be kings on this world
"Follow me
I'll play the game you want me
Until I find a way back home"
"Follow me
I give you strength inside you
Courage to win your battles"
No, no, no, this can't go on
This will be all that I fled from
Let me rest for a while
He walked into a valley
All alone
There He talked with water
And then with the vine
They leave me no choice
I must lead them to glory
Or most likely to death
They traveled cross the plateau
Of ice up to its edge
Then they crossed a mountain range
And saw the final plain
Still He urged the people on
Then, on a distant slope
He observed one without hope
Flee back up the mountainside
He thought He recognized Him by His walk
And by the way He fell
And by the way He stood up
And vanished into air
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by musictomyear
One For The Vine Lyrics as written by Anthony George Banks
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The one who initially questions the leader ends up by a twist of fate to be a potential leader, himself. When alone "...he talked with water, and then with the vine" can have many meanings. It has religious connotations for me as much of Genesis' earlier work does. He steels himself so that he can make the decision to lead, initially by the drinking of water, then by the drinking of wine, which has always been referred to as the product of the vine. It is left to the reader / listener to decide whether he himself turns that water into wine or convinces himself that he does or just finds both. In any event he reaches a point where he has gained the courage or delusion to lead. It is arguable that he does not see himself completely as a god, as he realises that he may be leading his people "more likely to death" than "to glory". However, he certainly reaches a point where he is prepared to be the adored leader, without qualifications.
When he views another who "Stood up, and vanished into air" at the end of the song this again is a metaphor for the selling of one's soul for personal gain. It is the soul that vanishes, in the person he witnesses, just as it vanished in him.
"I must lead them to glory or most likely to death". Really great.
This song is great for the seemingly believable story, until the very last line, when the plot goes through a huge twist, which makes us question what really happened.
The meaning can be taken as kind of simple or rudimentary i suppose, but the lyrics and delivery offer the story in such a beautifully haunting way...this song is a wonderful journey through the chaos of this man's values as he meets a culture by whom he is regarded as a savior—or a god, even. The lyrics do a nice job of providing a good amount of ambiguity to the ending.
One part I've never really understood fully (or at least been able to fit any logical meaning in with the rest) is the "There he talked with water/and then with the vine" line. I suppose it's a bit of introspective self-reflection on this man's part, considering "do I take advantage of these people's dreams or just dash their hopes and leave?"
So what about the title, and the water and the vine??? Well, in typical Banks fashion, it either means something incredibly special to the writer that we will never know for sure unless there's an interview quote somewhere, or it is just typcial 70s "prog rock imagery" that seemed cool to write. lol But I think Banks is brilliant, so it must have meaning. What I can come up with is water represents life, and the vine represents growth (or even escape). So when he "talks" with water and the vine, they convince him to carry on, I assume the idea is that he will allow his followers to live and grow (or escape their oppressors) by not giving up (again).